For decades, my hometown of Qira was a sanctuary of quiet endurance.
One of the smallest villages in the occupied West Bank, nestled in the Salfit governorate and tucked away from covetous eyes, it remained relatively shielded from major land confiscations and aggressive incursions throughout the long years of occupation.
That protective obscurity is ending. In recent weeks, organised groups of armed Israeli settlers have begun making regular, unauthorised "exploratory hikes" through our village, wandering past our homes, inspecting our ancient Roman water pool and descending into the valley to survey local shrines, assigning them Hebrew names and claiming biblical connections.
We need look no further than the village of Tell, near Nablus, to see where this trajectory leads. In July, four Palestinians were killed there after a confrontation sparked by one such armed settler "hike", and rampaging settlers then burned homes in nearby villages.
In the West Bank, "civilian" scouting is the vanguard of lethal violence.
Human Rights Glance
Israeli attacks on Gaza have escalated in the last 24 hours, with five Palestinians killed, the Palestinian health ministry is reporting.
Israeli media outlets on Sunday published a video showing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visiting Damon Prison, where dozens of female Palestinian prisoners are being held.
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Qusra in the northern occupied West Bank on Saturday, residents and the military said, after nearly three weeks of tension in the area.
Israel's Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has explained his own strategy more candidly than any critic could.
Ahmed Zeidat was tending his olive trees in the occupied West Bank when a group of Israeli settlers came charging towards him.
Zvi Sukkot, a member of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, was filmed smashing the Palestinian Martyrs' Monument in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, with a sledgehammer.





























